THE DAY OF JUDGMENT:

A POETICAL ESSAY.

BY DR. GLYNN.

THY justice, heavenly King! and that great day,
When Virtue, long abandon'd and forlorn,
Shall raise her pensive head; and Vice, that erst
Rang'd unreprov'd and free, shall sink appall'd,
I sing adventurous. — But what eye can pierce
The vast immeasurable realms of space
O'er which Messiah drives his flaming car
To that bright region, where enthron'd he sits
First-born of heaven, to judge assembled worlds,
Cloath'd in celestial radiance! Can the Muse,
Her feeble wing all damp with earthly dew,
Soar to that bright empyreal, where around,
Myriads of angels, God's perpetual choir,
Hymn Halelujah's; and in concert loud
Chaunt songs of triumph to their Maker's praise? —
Yet will I strive to sing, albeit unus'd
To tread poetic soil. What tho' the wiles
Of Fancy me enchanted ne'er could lure
To rove o'er fairy lands; to swim the streams
[Page 62]20  That thro' her vallies weave their mazy way;
Or climb her mountain tops; yet will I raise
My feeble voice to tell what harmony
(Sweet as the music of the rolling spheres)
Attunes the moral world: that Virtue still
May hope her promis'd crown; that Vice may dread
Vengeance, tho' late; that reasoning Pride may own
Just tho' unsearchable the ways of heaven. 

Sceptic! whoe'er thou art, who say'st the soul,
That divine particle, which God's own breath
Inspir'd into the mortal mass, shall rest
Annihilate, 'till Duration has unroll'd
Her never-ending line; tell, if thou know'st,
Why every nation, every clime, tho' all
In laws, in rites, in manners disagree,
With one consent expect another world,
Where wickedness shall weep? Why Paynim bards,
Fabled Elysian plains, Tartarean lakes,
Styx and Cocytus? Tell, why Hali's sons
Have seign'd a paradise of mirth and love,
Banquets, and blooming nymphs? Or rather tell,
Why, on the brink of Orellana's stream,
Where never Science rear'd her sacred torch,
Th' untutor'd Indian dreams of happier worlds
Behind the cloud-topt hill? why in each breast
Is plac'd a friendly monitor, that prompts,
Informs, directs, encourages, forbids? 
Tell, why on unknown evil grief attends,
[Page 63]48  Or joy on secret good? Why conscience acts
With tenfold force, when sickness, age, or pain,
Stands tottering on the precipice of Death? 
Or why such horror gnaws the guilty soul
Of dying sinners; while the good man sleeps
Peaceful and calm, and with a smile expires? 

Look round the world, with what a partial hand
The scale of bliss and misery is sustain'd! 
Beneath the shade of cold obscurity
Pale Virtue lies! no arm supports her head,
No friendly voice speaks comfort to her soul,
Nor soft-ey'd Pity drops a melting tear;
But, in their stead, Contempt and rude Disdain
Insult the banish'd wanderer: on she goes
Neglected and forlorn: Disease, and Cold,
And Famine, worst of ills, her steps attend:
Yet patient, and to heaven's just will resign'd,
She ne'er is seen to weep, or heard to sigh. 

Now turn your eyes to yon sweet-smelling bower,
Where flush'd with all the insolence of wealth
Sits pamper'd Vice! For him th' Arabian gale
Breathes forth delicious odours! Gallia's hills
For him pour nectar from the purple vine;
Nor think for these he pays the tribute due
To heaven: of heaven he never names the name,
Save when with imprecations dark and dire
He points his jest obscene. Yet buxom Health
Sits on his rosy cheek; yet Honour gilds
[Page 64]76  His high exploits; and downy pinion'd Sleep
Sheds a soft epiate o'er his peaceful couch. 

See'st thou this, righteous Father! See'st thou this,
And wilt thou ne'er repay? Shall good and ill
Be carried undistinguish'd to the land
Where all things are forgot? — Ah! no; the day
Will come, when Virtue from the cloud shall burst
That long obscur'd her beams; when Sin shall fly
Back to her native hell; there sink eclips'd
In penal darkness; where nor star shall rise,
Nor ever sunshine pierce th' impervious gloom. 

On that great day the solemn trump shall sound,
(That trump which once in heaven on man's revolt
Convok'd the astonish'd seraphs) at whose voice
Th' unpeopled graves shall pour forth all their dead. 
Then shall th' assembled nations of the earth
From every quarter, at the judgment-seat
Unite; Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks,
Parthians, and they who dwelt on Tyber's banks,
Names fam'd of old: or who of later age,
Chinese and Russian, Mexican and Turk,
Tenant the wide Terrene; and they who pitch
Their tents on Niger's banks; or where the sun
Pours on Golconda's spires his early light,
Drink Ganges' sacred stream. At once shall rise,
Whom distant ages to each other's sight
Had long denied; before the throne shall kneel
Some great progenitor, while at his side
[Page 65]104  Stands his descendant thro' a thousand lines. 
Whate'er their nation, and whate'er their rank,
Heroes and patriarchs, slaves and scepter'd kings,
With equal eye the God of all shall see;
And judge with equal love. What tho' the great
With costly pomp and aromatic sweets
Embalm'd his poor remains; or thro' the dome
A thousand tapers shed their gloomy light,
While solemn organs to his parting soul
Chaunted slow orisons? Say, by what mark
Dost thou discern him from that lowly swain
Whose mouldering bones beneath the thorn bound turf
Long lay neglected? — All at once shall rise;
But not to equal glory: for, alas! 
With howlings dire and execrations loud
Some wail their fatal birth. — First among these
Behold the mighty murtherers of mankind;
They who in sport whole kingdoms slew; or they
Who to the tottering pinnacle of power
Waded thro' seas of blood! How will they curse
The madness of ambition; how lament
Their dear-bought laurels; when the widow'd wife
And childless mother at the judgment-seat
Plead trumpet-tongu'd against them! — Here are they
Who sunk an aged father to the grave:
Or with unkindness hard and cold disdain
Slighted a brother's sufferings: — Here are they
Whom fraud and skilful treachery long secur'd;
[Page 66]132  Who from the infant virgin tore her dower,
And eat the orphan's bread: — who spent their stores
In selfish luxury; or o'er their gold
Prostrate and pale ador'd the useless heap. —
Here too who stain'd the chaste connubial bed; —
Who mix'd the poisonous bowl; — or broke the ties
Of hospitable friendship: — and the wretch
Whose listless soul sick with the cares of life
Unsummon'd to the presence of his God
Rush'd in with insult rude. How would they joy
Once more to visit earth; and, tho' oppress'd
With all that Pain and Famine can inflict,
Pant up the hill of life? Vain wish! the Judge
Pronounces doom eternal on their heads,
Perpetual punishment. Seek not to know
What punishment! for that th' Almighty Will
Has hid from mortal eyes: and shall vain man
With curious search refin'd presume to pry
Into thy secrets, Father! No: let him
With humble patience all thy works adore,
And walk in all thy paths: so shall his meed
Be great in heaven, so haply shall he 'scape
The immortal worm and never-ceasing fire. 

But who are they, who bound in ten-fold chains
Stand horribly aghast? This is the crew
Who strove to pull Jehovah from his throne,
And in the place of heaven's Eternal King
Set up the phantom Chance. For them in vain
[Page 67]160  Alternate seasons chear'd the rolling year;
In vain the sun o'er herb, tree, fruit, and flower
Shed genial influence, mild; and the pale moon
Repair'd her waning orb. — Next these is plac'd
The vile blasphemer, he, whose impious wit
Profan'd the sacred mysteries of faith,
And 'gainst the impenetrable walls of heaven
Planted his feeble battery. By these stands
The arch Apostate: he with many a wile
Exhorts them still to foul revolt. Alas! 
No hope have they from black despair, no ray
Shines thro' the gloom to chear their sinking souls:
In agonies of grief they curse the hour
When first they left Religion's onward way. 

These on the left are rang'd: but on the right
A chosen band appears, who fought beneath
The banner of Jehovah, and defy'd
Satan's united legions. Some, unmov'd
At the grim tyrant's frown, o'er barbarous climes
Diffus'd the gospel's light; some, long immur'd
(Sad servitude!) in chains and dungeons pin'd;
Or rack'd with all the agonies of pain
Breath'd out their faithful lives. Thrice happy they
Whom heaven elected to that glorious strife! —
Here are they plac'd, whose kind munificence
Made heaven-born Science raise her drooping head;
And on the labours of a future race
Entail'd their just reward. Thou amongst these
[Page 68]188  Good SEATON! whose well-judg'd benevolence
Fostering fair Genius bad the Poet's hand
Bring annual offerings to his Maker's shrine,
Shalt find the generous care was not in vain. —
Here is that favourite band, whom mercy mild,
God's best lov'd attribute, adorn'd; whose gate
Stood ever open to the stranger's call;
Who fed the hungry, to the thirsty lip
Reach'd out the friendly cup; whose care benign
From the rude blast secur'd the pilgrim's side;
Who heard the widow's tender tale; and shook
The galling shackle from the prisoner's feet;
Who each endearing tye, each office knew
Of meek-ey'd heaven-descended Charity. —
O Charity, thou nymph divinely fair! 
Sweeter than those whom antient Poets bound
In amity's indissoluble chain,
The Graces! How shall I essay to paint
Thy charms, celestial maid; and in rude verse
Blazon those deeds thyself didst ne'er reveal? 
For thee nor rankling envy can infect,
Nor rage transport, nor high o'erweening pride
Puff up with vain conceit; ne'er didst thou smile
To see the sinner as a verdant tree
Spread his luxuriant branches o'er the stream;
While like some blasted trunk the righteous fall,
Prostrate, forlorn. When prophesies shall fail,
When tongues shall cease, when knowledge is no more,
[Page 69]216  And this great day is come; thou by the throne
Shalt sit triumphant. Thither, lovely maid,
Bear me, O bear me on thy soaring wing,
And thro' the adamantine gates of heaven
Conduct my steps, safe from the fiery gulph
And dark abyss where Sin and Satan reign! 

But, can the Muse, her numbers all too weak,
Tell how that restless element of fire
Shall wage with seas and earth intestine war,
And deluge all creation? Whether (so
Some think) the comet, as thro' fields of air
Lawless he wanders, shall rush headlong on
Thwarting th' Ecliptic where th' unconscious earth
Rolls in her wonted course; whether the sun
With force centripetal into his orb
Attract her long reluctant; or the caves,
Those dread Vulcanos where engendering lye
Sulphureous minerals, from their dark abyss
Pour streams of liquid fire; while from above,
As erst on Sodom, heaven's avenging hand
Rains fierce combustion. — Where are now the works
Of art, the toil of ages? Where are now
Th' imperial cities, sepulchres and domes,
Trophies and pillars? — Where is Egypt's boast,
Those lofty pyramids, which high in air
Rear'd their aspiring heads, to distant times
Of Memphian pride a lasting monument? —
Tell me where Athens rais'd her towers? — Where Thebes
[Page 70]244  Open'd her hundred portals? — Tell me where
Stood sea-girt Albion? — Where imperial Rome
Propt by seven hills sat like a sceptred Queen,
And aw'd the tributary world to peace? —
Shew me the rampart, which o'er many a hill,
Thro' many a valley stretch'd its wide extent,
Rais'd by that mighty monarch, to repel
The roving Tartar, when with insult rude
'Gainst Pekin's towers he bent th'unerring bow. 

But what is mimic Art? Even Nature's works,
Seas, meadows, pastures, the meandering streams,
And everlasting hills shall be no more. 
No more shall Teneriff cloud-piercing height
O'er-hang th' Atlantic Surge. — Nor that fam'd cliff,
Thro' which the Persian steer'd with many a sail,
Throw to the Lemnian Isle its evening shade
O'er half the wide Aegean. — Where are now
The Alps that confin'd with unnumber'd realms,
And from the Black Sea to the Ocean stream
Stretch'd their extended arms? — Where's Ararat,
That hill on which the faithful Patriarch's Ark
Which seven long months had voyaged o'er its top
First rested, when the Earth with all her sons,
As now by streaming cataracts of fire,
Was whelm'd by mighty waters? — All at once
Are vanish'd and dissolv'd; no trace remains,
No mark of vain distinction: heaven itself
That azure vault with all those radiant orbs
[Page 71]272  Sinks in the universal ruin lost. —
No more shall planets round their central sun
Move in harmonious dance; no more the moon
Hang out her silver lamp; and those fix'd stars
Spangling the golden canopy of night,
Which oft the Tuscan with his optic glass
Call'd from their wonderous height, to read their names
And magnitude, some winged minister
Shall quench; and (surest sign that all on earth
Is lost) shall rend from heaven the mystic bow. 

Such is that awful, that tremendous day,
Whose coming who shall tell? for as a thief
Unheard, unseen, it steals with silent pace
Thro' night's dark gloom. — Perhaps as here I sit
And rudely carol these incondite lays,
Soon shall the hand be check'd, and dumb the mouth
That lisps the faultering strain. — O! may it ne'er
Intrude unwelcome on an ill-spent hour;
But find me wrapt in meditations high,
Hymning my great Creator! 
"Power supreme! 
" O Everlasting King! to thee I kneel,
"To thee I lift my voice. With fervent heat
" Melt all ye elements? And thou, high heaven,
"Shrink, like a shrivell'd scroll? But think, O Lord,
" Think on the best, the noblest of thy works;
"Think on thine own bright Image! Think on him,
" Who died to save us from thy righteous wrath;
"And 'midst the wreck of worlds remember man!" 

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Title (in Source Edition): THE DAY OF JUDGMENT: A POETICAL ESSAY.

Author: Robert Glynn (later Clobery)

Themes: religion

Genres: blank verse

References: DMI 32131

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Pearch, G. A collection of poems in four volumes. By several hands. Vol. III. [The second edition]. London: printed for G. Pearch, 1770, pp. 61-71. 4v. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T116245; DMI 1136; OTA K093079.003) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [(OC) 280 o.790].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT:

A POETICAL ESSAY.

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